No 1412: April 30, 2014eNews is a weekly electronic newsletter
sent to all GP practices (with email addresses) within the NEV catchment. The
aim is to provide up to date information relevant to GPs and to disseminate the
latest activities and resources from the division. All feedback and enquiries
welcome and should be addressed to Patty Marshall.
You can also visit our website at: http://www.nevdgp.org.au/.
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In this issue:

EditorialThe Future of Medicare Locals? The Future of Divisions? Will Primary Care Services be up
for Tender or Contract?

A Word from the Editor

The Future of Medicare Locals?The
Future of Divisions? Will Primary Care Services be up for Tender or
Contract?

There has been much speculation in the media (e g. the ABC,
Fairfax)
as to the future of Medicare Locals. The answers we assume will be contained in
the Federal Budget, due in about 3 weeks. The Division has sought the advice of
a random group of practices of what they would like to see in the way of future
support for general practice.

Without exception the responsive, personal service, they saw as provided by
the Division was at the top of their wish list. The Division’s policy of never
letting a phone ring more than 3 times and getting back to the caller within 24
hours for questions we couldn’t answer immediately was universally applauded by
our members and their staff.

The second most valued service provided by the division was the practical
interpretation of Commonwealth initiatives and their implementation (such as
Information Management, Immunisation, Aged Care, Mental Health and NPS), most
often in the practice itself. Equally appreciated were the Practice Manager,
Practice Nurse and practice staff networks established by the Division.

Thirdly was the “TEAM” approach adopted by the Division, where individual
programs and personnel supported each other both in the office and in the
field.

Finally, many commented on the Divisions support staff, who
most often were the face of the Division in the first instance. Friendly, knowledgeable
and reliable were the words most often used to describe them in our brief
sample.

The Budget on May 11th will be of interest to us all and we can only hope
that any new structure will provide the types of service to general practice as
outlined above. We live in hope!

Chronic Disease Management

Diabetes food myth - People with diabetes can’t eat certain fruits

Truth:Fruit may
taste sweet but in fact, most types of fruit have a low glycemic
index, meaning that they are slowly absorbed. People with diabetes can eat all types of fruit. The most important
factor is the amount of fruit consumed, as eating too much fruit can raise
blood glucose levels. Aim to eat 2-3 servings of fruit every day, and spread
this out across the day. One serving of fruit is equal to 1 medium piece (e.g.
1 apple or banana), 2 small pieces (e.g. 2 small apricots or kiwi fruit) or 1
cup of cut up fruit pieces. For more information about diabetes please visit www.diabetesvic.org.au

Diabetes - Beyond the Horizon

Friday
16 May at Melbourne
Exhibition Centre, 2 Clarendon Street, South Wharf. Further more
information and to register click here.

Getting Started – an education session for people with type 2 diabetes

Diabetes Australia – Vic’s Getting Started program is a 5
hour group education sessionfor people
with type 2 diabetes who are newly diagnosed or have not had diabetes education
in the past. Programs are run by our Diabetes Educator and Dietitian,
who will provide participants with valuable information to help get them
started with their diabetes management. Click here
for more information.

Diabetes Australia – Vic Supermarket Tours

DA–Vic organise supermarket tours across Victoria, to help
make shopping for food easier. As part of the two hour tour, local dietitians show the group how to accurately read and
understand food labels, select healthy food alternatives and identify products
that are appropriate for people with type 2 diabetes. Cost: Free-DA-Vic members and $15 for
non-members. Limited bookings available for each tour.

Locations for tours can be found here.
To make a booking, contact the Diabetes Info and Advice Line
(DIAL) on 1300 136 588.

Continuing
Professional Development

Webinar - Warfarin: Optimising Time In
Therapeutic RangeWednesday
14th May 7-8pmPresenter:Debra
Rowett,Director Drug and Therapeutics
Information Service, Repatriation General Hospital, Daw
Park, South Australia.
The presentation will focus on Warfarin in people with Atrial
Fibrillation. Topics include the long term effects of daily use of
Warfarin; its dose requirements (pharmacokinetics); multiple concomitant
medications and their polymorbidity; the incidence
and prevalence of Warfarin and management of patients within the therapeutic
range. At the end of the webinar, one should be able to manage the
therapeutic use of Warfarin and understand the different methods to calculate
time-in-therapeutic range (TTR). Please click here to register for this
event.

Immunisation

Hepatitis B vaccine – more at-risk groups eligible for a free course

Eligibility for a free hepatitis B vaccine course has
expanded to include more at-risk groups:

• household contacts and sexual
partners of people living with hepatitis B

• people who inject drugs or are on
opioid substitution therapy

• people living with hepatitis C

• men who have sex with men

• people living with HIV

• prisoners and remandees

• people who were in a custodial
setting and commenced but did not complete a free vaccine course while in
custody.

Patients eligible for the free vaccine course should be
advised of their increased risk and have serological testing for HBsAg, anti-HBs and anti-HBc.
Patients found to be susceptible to hepatitis B should be given a free vaccine
course.

Post-vaccination serological testing is recommended four to
eight weeks after completion of the vaccine course in certain groups. See The
Australian Immunisation Handbook: 10th edition 2013 (updated January 2014).

Obtain the free vaccine by using the online order
forms. Promote the free vaccine course to those eligible. A poster
outlining eligibility is available here.

Following confirmation of a hepatitis B diagnosis
notify the department. Download the notification
form and fax to 1300 651 170 (local call) or
post to Reply Paid 65937, Melbourne, Vic. 8060. Call 1300
651 160 for assistance and information.

Information Management

Medical Director Tip - Changes to Correspondence preview display

The Letters, Documents and Correspondence Preview windows
have two really good features, setting the page magnification and opening a
document externally:

1.Zoom Page Width –
you can select from a drop down menu to select your zoom magnification, or
alternatively you can use Control + Mouse wheel to zoom in and out to your
required magnification.

2.Open
Externally – click on one of your documents and then the Open Externally button which will cause
text-based documents to open in Word, and non-text in a graphics program such
as Windows Photo Viewer.

These documents can then be quickly saved, printed or
emailed outside of Medical Director.

Items of Interest

Human Services Directory (HSD)

Just a quick reminder to please update your GP practice
details regularly on the HSD.Hospitals,
such as Austin Health, use the details on the HSD to provide patient
communication to GPs.To update your practice
details, please go to www.humanservicesdirectory.vic.gov.au.

RACGP clinical pearls

Recently, the RACGP introduced a new section in its Fridayfacts
newsletter called RACGP clinical pearls, which will be bringing readers
an evidence-based, best practice "pearl of wisdom". This new section
ties in with our recent webinar on diagnosis and management of health care,
which relates to Criterion 1.4 of
the Standards, describing the need for care based on best available evidence
and current clinical guidelines. You can learn more about this criterion
by viewing the recording of the
webinar session.

Women’s Health

Cancer Screening in Women over 50

This ThinkGP video is produced in
partnership with Cancer Council Victoria and BreastScreen
Victoria. It examines the prevalence of diagnoses of breast and bowel
cancer in different age groups, and modifiable lifestyle factors to reduce a
patient's risk of being effected by either disease. As women age, the incidence
of these diseases increases as does the need to screen, and this video explores
this by examining the most recent Australian statistics. Click here to view the video

Greensborough Road Surgery is currently seeking a Full-Time GP, approx 8
sessions pw. A position is available for an enthusiastic GP to join our team in
a modern, well-equipped 10-doctor practice, offering high-quality care in an
experienced and supportive environment. Private billing, computerised, 2.5
full-time nurses, (clinical CVC, and CDM.) Contact Ann McCormack (03) 9435 0711 or email grs@grs.net.au
or see www.grs.net.au

Reservoir: Summerhill Medical Centre is an established
medical practice seeking F/T and/or P/T practice nurses to join support a
dedicated team to provide exemplary care to patients of all ages. Flexible hours. Salary: Negotiable based on relevant
experience. Contact details: John on 0403 178 141
or summerhill@iinet.net.au.

Rosanna Medical Group is a family oriented Private General Practice
that is fully computerised and accredited. We are seeking a medical
receptionist for 30 hours plus per week inclusive of evening work.
Knowledge in PracSoft and Medical Director is
preferred. This position would include general reception and
administrative duties. Please contact Jeda or Jan on 9457 1463 and email CV to jeda@dmccoll.com.au

Humour

Growing up

Growing up is a weird notion to wrap your mind around. As
you go through life, your perspectives on almost everything will change. How
you define success will change as well. Things that you thought were important
at the age of 35 will be useless when you’re 65. You may not realize it now,
but everything will shift.